Vestavia Hills Gyms and Fitness

Brad Pugh has followed a healthy diet and exercise plan his whole life—until a few years ago, that is. Frustrated by the time and energy commitment, he decided to take a break from working out, which led to three years of inactivity and 30 extra pounds. As he huffed and puffed his way back to fitness, he resolved to use this experience as an opportunity to help others get back into shape. In 2000, Brad founded Shaping U Fitness, a gym specializes in small-group exercise programs.

A nationally certified personal trainer, Brad earned local renown when he was named the city’s second-best personal trainer by Birmingham Magazine. Six days a week, he runs indoor and outdoor boot-camp classes as well as personal-training sessions available on a one-on-one or semiprivate basis. Brad helps his clients modify unhealthy eating habits as well by designing meals based on the 14-day detox plan. Healthy meals centering around lean cuts of meat and high-nutrient vegetables are prepared by a chef and delivered to the home.

At Blissful Wellness Medical Weight Loss Centers, Dr. Elyssa Blissenbach and her team of licensed medical professionals and counselors devote their medical expertise to combating obesity. They take a three-pronged approach to slimming clients: customized programs, top-shelf supplements, and constant support. Like snowflakes’ DNA strands, no two patients are alike—and so staff members carefully calibrate diet and supplement plans to suit each client's metabolism, condition, and body type. The program also provides a support system for clients, offering everything from individual therapy to group outings to help ensure long-term weight loss.

Elite Wellness and Weight Loss Center's clinical director, Jeff L. Drake, D.C., and his welcoming staff are dedicated to helping patrons achieve weight loss through its personalized programs. During one-on-one evaluations, staffers analyze exercise, sleep, and eating habits and use their findings to develop realistic waist-whittling plans and timelines. The center's body wraps and infrared-sauna treatments work to reduce inches and cellulite, which appears as a result of edema and lack of circulation. The staff flushes excess toxins from the body by encasing it in a warm herbal wrap, helping increase circulation, lymphatic function, and empathy for leftovers.

Named after one of ballet’s most graceful leaps, Grand Jeté propels students toward fitness goals with dance-inspired stretches and strength-training exercises. Classes revolve around a ballet barre, where exercisers practice elegant movements designed to build lean limbs, flexible joints, and cores as firm as a mattress made of bricks and mortar. Seasoned dancers and fitness pros, including studio founder Laura Roy Armistead, helm each 50-minute workout, showering participants with encouraging words and tips on form as they melt calories and stress.

Full-time moms and certified trainers Natalie and Stacey host each Mommy And Me Time session in the spirit of camaraderie, building a supportive environment that encourages patrons to share their fitness goals with one another. The classes obviate the need for moms to find a sitter when they work out, as children are a part of each session and absorb the importance of physical wellbeing by participating or serving as cuddly free-weights in a regimen of cardio and strength routines. Core-refining ab training complements tension-unwinding stretch sessions to work out limbs, and the staff excuses any tots that don't develop six-packs or the ability to bench press their own bassinet. Natalie and Stacey also accommodate wee ones with a play area for exploring once they decide they are finished with the regular workout.